Empire of Shadows

In the bright room, Councilor Williams and James sat on opposite sides of the table. Sunlight streamed through the glass, warming the room.

The room was quiet, both men pondering their own thoughts, not engaging in much conversation.

After about two or three minutes, James asked with a hint of seeking guidance, "What do you think will be the ultimate outcome of this matter?"

Councilor Williams smiled and said, "A giant who only arm-wrestles others within the rules will not live long enough to become a giant; they will be devoured by their own kind."

"Only by possessing means outside the rules can they grow so strong and continue to expand."

"If Lance is unwilling to compromise, someone must pay the price..."

After Councilor Williams' call ended, Lance received several more calls, including one from the Secretary of State.

Agriculture is a relatively important component of the economy in the State of Licari, accounting for a significant portion of the state's output.

However, he wasn't entirely standing on the side of the Ligee Group, trying to persuade Lance, but rather to remind Lance to resolve the matter as soon as possible to prevent it from causing more negative impacts.

Withdrawal?

Perhaps this might be one of their options for the Ligee Group, but it is definitely not a viable solution for Licari State, because besides them, there are other agricultural distributors.

If they were willing to withdraw from Licari State, other agricultural product distributors would wake up laughing in their sleep.

The Secretary of State meant that regardless of whether Lance wins or loses, it is not advisable to drag this matter on indefinitely, as it will affect some of Licari State's positive and proactive image in commerce.

Avoiding creating artificial difficulties for investors is a selling point of this state; openness and inclusiveness must be demonstrated.

Since so many personal connections failed to sway Lance, the specialists, in addition to continuing to exert pressure on Lance and his team legally, also lobbied the judicial system.

The board of directors had no choice but to hold another meeting to discuss Lance's matter once again.

At the meeting, the opinions of the board members were no longer unified.

Some believed that Lance's "blackmail" should not be accepted, as the Ligee Group had never had such a precedent.

One director even proposed moving the Ligee Group's port warehouses from Licari State to Lion Port in the State of Jin.

This would not only solve the current problem once and for all but also place the port within the Ligee Group's core sphere of influence, eliminating the need to consider similar incidents from happening again.

However, some directors also believed that the most important thing at present was to solve the problem, not create more problems.

While Lion Port in the State of Jin was good, it was obviously inferior to Jin Port in terms of both shipping routes and geographical environment, which would increase costs while reducing the Ligee Group's core competitiveness among companies in the same industry.

Therefore, they should talk to Lance again. If money could solve the problem, even if it was a lot of money, they should grit their teeth and solve the problem first.

This proposal also had supporters and opponents. In short, they argued back and forth without reaching any conclusion.

The board of directors was not a monolithic entity; each represented different interest factions. For federal companies or governments, making any important decision often took a very long time.

The president asked for the opinion of a director who had been silent all along, and he put forward an idea that no one else had thought of.

"I have compared and considered both plans in my mind, and I don't think either is the best choice."

The others quieted down, and the directors who advocated different viewpoints all cast critical and even somewhat dissatisfied gazes upon him.

As if oblivious to these gazes, he said unhurriedly, "If we don't give him the money, who can we find to accurately help us solve this problem?"

"We have already invested some favors. Although they have not been able to help us solve this matter, favors will fade, which has already caused us greater losses."

"Agreeing to them, that's four million! Adding those faded favors and various expenses, our losses may be much greater than we imagine!"

These words caused the directors to show thoughtful or approving expressions. His gaze lingered on the faces of the board members one by one. "The core of the problem lies in the character of Lance."

"If there were no him... wouldn't the problem be easier to solve?"

The president frowned and asked, "Are you saying, get rid of him?"

"But we have already contacted the Coda family, and they think the Lance family is very troublesome and can't help us much."

The director who made the suggestion waved his hands repeatedly, "That's illegal. I didn't say to get rid of him."

"I just think that people always encounter all kinds of accidents. Someone gets into a car accident while crossing the road, someone slips and falls in the shower, and their head hits the bathtub."

"Someone accidentally gets electrocuted while using a toaster. Accidents surround us and accompany us."

"Could he also encounter an accident?"

He paused, giving people time to think and accept his statement, before continuing, "Local gangs will definitely stand with the locals. We don't only know those people from the Coda family."

"Why don't we choose one from some of our friends in the State of Jin?"

The others showed some signs of interest. After all, this was four million!

If they gave Lance this money, it would mean that the funds they could divide this year would be four million less, which was a very simple addition and subtraction.

"If we still can't solve it this time, it's God's hint to us. We'll pay the money then. I think there's no problem. What do you say?"

Gunmen are really cheap. You can hire a gunman for a thousand dollars, but whether they are good or not is another matter.

A better one might be a little more expensive, but it's still cheaper than four million in cash.

The directors discussed it and quickly made a decision.

Send someone to assassinate Lance. If successful, they would save four million.

If it failed, then it would mean that even God was on Lance's side. What would it matter to give him the four million?

"I agree to this plan!" The president was the first to express his attitude.

Soon, the vice president also raised his hand, "I also think there is no problem..."

"Then let's arrange it that way. Who to contact, how to contact them, you guys discuss it."

The matter was settled. Since legitimate means couldn't solve it, they would use crooked ones.

Some of the directors even had a premonition that even if it didn't work this time, there might be a next time.

Because the price Lance asked was too high!

For a time, Lance actually became idle. The Ligee Group seemed to have given up on trying to persuade him and began to actively respond to the lawsuit, seemingly wanting to resolve Lance's claim for liquidated damages through the judiciary.

But Lance always felt that this matter shouldn't be that simple.

In Goldenport City in November, the temperature had clearly dropped. It was rare to see people wearing short sleeves on the streets, and there were very few tourists on the beach.

Even if there were some tourists, they weren't like they were a month ago, wearing cool clothes and lying in the sun enjoying the caress of the sunlight.

They wore long-sleeved clothes and long pants, at most walking on the beach to say they had been there.

The elderly also began to tell their children to pay attention to keeping warm, otherwise, when they reached their age, even a not-so-cold wind blowing on their joints would feel like a small knife cutting them.

Most young people wouldn't believe this until they really grew old.

Everything seemed peaceful and stable. The bars in Starlight District also began to open, but business wasn't particularly good, which was also related to Lance not promoting them.

In a week, the Ligee Group already had several breach of contract agreements to deal with. Lance didn't know and didn't care how they would handle these obvious breach of contract agreements.

But as long as they didn't transfer the money, he would continue to let this situation persist.

It was at this time that several tourists from the State of Jin, carrying luggage, disembarked from the cruise ship.

"No wonder it's the largest port in the Federation. It looks much more prosperous than Lion Port."

One of the middle-aged men, carrying a suitcase, stood on the port, looked around, and couldn't help but sigh.

Lion Port was actually not small, but the number of freighters and passengers there was much smaller than here, and the reason was actually very simple.

It was farther from the world and closer to the north.

This era had not yet seen the greenhouse effect, and the changes in temperature were clearly more distinct between the four seasons, and perhaps even slightly colder.

This led to the fact that some routes to Lion Port had a certain probability of becoming frozen ports in winter, and once a port was frozen, it would greatly affect transportation.

Even if they had icebreakers to regularly break the ice in and near the port, there were still not many ships choosing Lion Port in winter.

Lion Port was very deserted in winter, unlike here, which was bustling even in winter.

The purpose of the group's trip from the State of Jin was for Lance. They wouldn't hold up signs telling others they were assassins; they looked like ordinary tourists.

"I heard that the Federal government has accepted many refugees from Tanfit. I really can't understand this behavior and thinking."

One of the gunmen, looking at the large number of refugee beggars at the port, couldn't help but say, "These people not only make the security dangerous, but we also have to give them food and winter supplies."

Another gunman explained from the side, "This is related to the Federation's strategy and image in the international community. Our government hopes to gain more international recognition and support. This is a stage we must go through to become a major power!"

It can be seen that although these people are gunmen, they all like to read newspapers, especially current affairs newspapers. This may be the biggest difference between the Jinzhou gang and the Likalai Prefecture gang—

The economic development atmosphere in Likalai Prefecture is stronger, so people only care about money.

But the political atmosphere in Jinzhou is stronger, so whether it is a gangster, a policeman, or even a tramp on the roadside, they will read newspapers and gather together to discuss national affairs.

After a few people came out of the port, two cars were already waiting for them. One of them even kindly took out some change and threw it to the refugee women begging on the roadside.

After getting in the car, the warm environment inside made them feel some comfort.

In the first car, the contact person sitting in the passenger seat told them some things that would happen next.

"You have three days to familiarize yourself with these things. After three days, we will create an attack to see if we can lure Lance out."

"There is only one chance, I hope you can hold on."

The middle-aged man sitting behind him was the person in charge of this operation. "I haven't heard of this family, and I haven't heard of this person."

The gentleman in the passenger seat was silent for a while, "They are a new force that has developed in the past year, the Empire Group, very strong."

"Has it surpassed your five major families?"

The gentleman in the passenger seat suddenly became a little annoyed, maybe he felt that he was being underestimated, but after thinking about it carefully, he was actually right.

After experiencing internal and external problems within the five major families, all except the Kodak family suffered serious losses.

The Lance family, however, has been developing and expanding rapidly and quietly.

They were unwilling to admit this fact, but they had to admit this fact. In a one-on-one comparison, Lance and the others were already qualified to stand alongside the five major families.

The person in front didn't speak, and the middle-aged man sitting behind him showed a smile, "If it were in Jinzhou, we would not allow such a small force to develop to this scale without our consent."

"I'm not saying you guys are too rubbish, but in some aspects, you really need to learn from us."

The gentleman sitting in the passenger seat snorted coldly and closed his mouth. He didn't want to say anything more to these people.

The two cars quickly merged into the traffic and disappeared.

On Tuesday morning, the case of Mr. Chobaf's suicide was basically over.

The police conducted a detailed investigation and evidence collection of the environment of his suicide, and finally confirmed that he chose to die to get rid of his debts after bankruptcy.

After liquidating Mr. Chobaf's and Jinda Bank's remaining property, after estimating all his unowned inheritance, only two thousand seven hundred and forty-four yuan was left.

This amount was calculated based on the auction proceeds obtained after auctioning off the remaining assets. As for whether the entire auction process was legal and complied with judicial procedures, that is another matter.

These two thousand seven hundred yuan were uniformly compensated according to the number of "victims" and the amount of their losses, with the largest payment receiving forty-three cents and the smallest receiving one cent.

This case is now completely over.

The city hall told these victims that if they were not satisfied with the result, they could appeal and claim their demands, but there would not necessarily be a result.

Unless someone can find Mr. Chobaf's hidden funds or other assets, and even if they do, they will only be compensated proportionally.

The entire Empire District was in mourning, at least thousands of families suffered huge losses, and many people's life savings turned into a few cents!

Mr. Chobaf's bank, manor, and villa all became Lance's private property according to the legally effective documents he signed before his death, and will be supported and protected by law.

When re-entering the bank's lobby, it was obviously very chaotic here. The floor was covered with papers, documents, and garbage that had not been cleaned up in time.

The marble floor with colorful patterns made people feel the nobility here, but the empty hall seemed a little lonely.

Everything that could be moved away was moved away by the court and taken to auction.

Those exquisite solid wood desks worth hundreds of yuan each were auctioned off at a price of a few yuan each at the auction.

Now it's empty here, there's nothing.

If the glass wasn't worthless, they would have taken the glass down!

"I don't know what to say, I just feel a little wonderful!"

Erwin patted the thick pillar, somewhat lost, "Mr. Chobaf is a remarkable person, at least he used to be a person. They all told me that this is the light of the empire!"

Lance did not deny it, "For a long time, he gave the empire immigrants the courage to live on. People believed that as long as they worked hard, they could be like him."

"But people don't know at all that some things can't be done with hard work."

He walked towards the back, "Is the vault still safe?"

"No one touched it. I was watching when they moved things away."

The group entered the underground vault, and the heavy vault door made everyone feel a sense of despair.

The locksmith also came today. When he saw the vault door, his eyes showed a kind of fanaticism!

As an excellent locksmith, he has a fanatical love for various locks.

If there were no other accidents, he would not have been qualified to study the security system of the bank vault in his life.

But now, he has this qualification.

"I'm worried that someone left the key. You have to design some new solutions to ensure our safety."

"Don't let people open it easily."

Lance instructed, he didn't know who had the key to the vault, but there must be omissions.

Or Mr. Chobaf may have a spare key. If the security system of the vault is not replaced, if someone tries to sneak in, his loss will be too great!

The cabinets in the vault were empty. No one could imagine how much wealth was once piled up here!

But no matter how glorious it was in the past, from today onwards, this place belongs to Lance.

After wandering around in the vault, they returned to the top, and someone came over, "Boss, there are some people gathered outside."

Lance nodded and walked out. Outside the door, many depositors who used to deposit money here gathered, and they were also the biggest victims of this incident.

They looked at Lance with eager eyes, "Mr. Lance, are you going to take over Jinda Bank?"

If Lance took over, would it mean that they still had a chance to get back those fortunes?

But soon, in their desperate eyes, Lance shook his head, "I don't have this idea. He owes too much debt, and no one dares to take over the bank's business."

"I'm sorry, gentlemen!"